I was born and raised in Van Nuys, California. I moved to Boston sight-unseen and have loved living in New England since that day when I said, “this apartment is old.” My hobbies are antiquing, reading books and magazines (bring back Blueprint and Domino please), sewing, quilting, sightseeing, watching movies, and photography. I love the color red and have a retro red refrigerator (and kitchen aid mixer and ice cream maker and toaster and…) to prove it! I live in a converted high school and love decorating my loft condo (w/ 18 foot ceilings) that was formerly the auditorium. I have 3 brothers, 11 nieces and nephews, and a bus fleet of friends.

Ellen’s blog is a smorgasbord of great stuff: photos, recipes, family, friends, and spiritual insight are just a few of the gems you will find there. It’s a great place to visit to feel uplifted and learn something new.
Congratulations, Ellen!

I found Aimee The Supermom of the From Silence To Song blog to be all that she claims to be. She is the Supermom of five wonderful children and shares her experiences and challenges raising them amidst some difficult physical challenges. Two of her children have major hearing loss issues and one has a rare form of child lung disease, (NEHI). But because Aimee is a Supermom (and her kids are Superkids), she makes the bumps in the road seem easy to maneuver.

Her blog is an inspiration and gives insight and direction in how to handle the challenges we face, no matter what they are. Below is a quote from Aimee’s March 21, 2011 repost of “Why Me? Why Not?”

I think there are many people who live by the misguided notion that living a life that is good and faithful to whatever religion they embrace should exempt them from pain. The truth is that there is really no “vaccine” for hardship. No one can prevent it from spreading to themselves. Living a good and faithful life is simply one way to find the tools to face pain head-on when it comes.

I am sad to say that my first visit to Sarah’s blog was to check her out for the Mormon Momma Best LDS Female Solo Blogger contest. I soon realized what I had been missing! Her blog is interesting, quirky, insightful, and most of all it is funny. Sarah has a way of seeing the humor in the everyday things. If you want to start your day with a smile, see what is new on Sarah’s blog! Here are some of the fun topics you will see on The Mother Load:

Every day, I post a picture and caption in my What I learned today feature. Mondays, you’ll find an Outrageous News piece. Tuesdays I post a youtube video of note in You’ve Gotta See This. Wednesdays (my favorite!) I lampoon my Stupid Product of the week. Thursdays, I profile an Awesome Product. Fridays, I post my weekly Mother Load column in the same format as the original. On Sunday, I open my blog to promote the blogs of others with my weekly Mother Load Carnival of Writers. And once a month, I profile a Blogger To Follow.

DeNae Handy is a humorous essayist, a music teacher, and a public speaker whose posts reflect the hectic lifestyle of a mom of teens and twenty-somethings. When she began blogging on My Real Life Was Backordered in November of 2009 she’d never even read a blog and had no followers. Today, three hundred-plus people follow DeNae’s exploits. Of her blog, Denae says, “my blog has become more like my virtual living room, where I imagine my friends gathering to swap stories, eat chips, and drink all my Diet Coke.”

And just FYI — DaNae appears to be related to England’s royal family. While browsing her site, I came across a picture in her Feb. 26, 2011, post. In it she claims her future daughter-in-law — judging by the black saucer stuck to the side of her head — would not be needing a Satellite dish as a wedding gift. I laughed and showed my husband the picture, telling him how snark-illy, witty DaNae had been. My husband was quick to inform me that the picture was of Prince William and his soon to be bride.

Heatherlady blogs extensively at Women in the Scriptures with posts on everything from birthing chairs to how to celebrate Purim with your preschoolers. Purim, of course, is the Jewish Holiday celebrating Esther’s role in liberating the Jews.

Heather provides lots of little known information about stories involving women from all four standard works, (i.e. The Bible, The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine & Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price). The stories she brings to light are ones that often get passed over, and she presents them in a lively and thought provoking manner. She tops this off with stimulating questions about women in the scriptures and then she challenges her readers to take the Women In the Scriptures Challenge. She has built a following of more than 250 readers since she began blogging in 2009.

Angie Gardner also contributed to this post. For some reason the co-author plugin isn’t working at the moment. I’ll look into it, but want to give Angie credit as well.Alison Moore Smith recently posted…The 4-Hour Workweek Fatal Flaw- It’s MLM

Thank you SO MUCH for the shout out. More than anything, I hope other parents raising children who have been blessed with special needs will find my blog and realize that I’m just a person. If I, with all of my shortcomings (and there are many) can do this, anyone can. It’s about finding out who your children are, who you are as a parent, and how you and that child can come together as one to teach, advocate for, and accept unconditionally the cards you’ve been dealt. There are no perfect answers, no perfect children, and certainly no perfect parents. What matters is learning to embrace that fact that, for the child you have been blessed with, YOU are the perfect choice.Aimee recently posted…Flower

Hi Ellen, I love your blog! Sorry I never received your email, I’m hoping it didn’t go to spam or something. When I hadn’t heard from you I just assumed you didn’t see my comment, sorry we were not able to connect.

Aimee, I was fortunate for the opportunity to review your blog. You have incredible strength and that shines through in your words. I saw a plaque once that read- Anyone can handle a crisis, it’s the day to day stuff that will kill you. ——- You are an inspiration.Darcee Yates recently posted…Driving Italy- Florence to Bologna